Mass Effect: From the Ashes of Nepmos (Stand Alone)
by Daniel Sullivan
Summary: When Lieutenant Durand (Mass Effect 1) is rescued from Rachni by Commander Shepard on Nepmos, an unexpected romance develops.


**Lieutenant Marie Durand: Mass Effect**

Overrun by insectoid creatures that came up out of the ground, the Alliance Tenth Frontier Division's Third Brigade, Fourteenth Regiment Nepmos unit was soon little more than a fire team. Captain Furlong had been killed, along with his second in command, Lieutenant Rogers. With her dead, First Lieutenant Marie Durand became the acting commander of the unit, and she was scared to death. She had fought through tough battles, many of them, but this topped them all. These creatures were … intelligent, far more so than animals should be, and they had systematically reduced her unit to a squad, and then down to just a handful of soldiers. The camp had automated laser guided artillery, but the creatures had swarmed the generator that powered it, destroying it before she and her team unit could kill them, and losing quite a few soldiers in the process. Good soldiers.

How could the Alliance not have known about these creatures? There were so many of them, there was no way that they would have been missed during initial exploration. The listening post was set up as a measure against pirates, not against swarms of horse sized insectoid monsters; monsters that were bullet resistant and highly aggressive. Their giant anthills had begun appearing around the post, and soon surrounded it. Now, the hills began appearing closer, and closer to the listening post. Soon, the creatures would be on top of them, too close for them to take out before being swarmed.

Without the artillery, they were now firing from behind inadequate, improvised barricades with woefully inadequate rifles. Marie stood with Corporal Morris, firing at one creature rushing them, killing it just before it got to them, only to watch it impale Morris with one of its long, whip-like feelers. As the long appendage slowly fell out of the hole it had made in his helmet, pieces of the man's brain mixed with blood came streaming out. Marie fell to her knees and tore off her helmet, vomiting. She pulled herself together and shakily stood up to face more of the things, biting back the tears at the loss of her friend. He had a wife and children at home. To die out here like this … and for what?

No sooner had she resumed her position than she was swarmed by five of the creatures. She fired mercilessly, half shouting/half crying at the top of her lungs, knowing that she was not going to make it. As one of the creatures leapt at her, clearing the barricade, it exploded. Whatever hit it had such force that it had propelled the creature twenty yards back from her. Marie was not even sprayed by its acidic ichor as pieces of it flew from the impact. The other four had been reduced to green spots, hissing away as they burned into the barricade. She heard a loud rumble, and one of her men on the western barricade began excitedly shouting and pointing.

"Lieutenant! Reinforcements!"

Sure enough, the rumble was nothing less than a Mako! Marie had only seen one in pictures; the cavalry vehicle was the latest and greatest to come out of Alliance R&D, and right now, it was the most beautiful thing in the galaxy.

"We just might make it," she exclaimed, renewing her efforts as the Mako ran roughshod over the insects, crushing beneath its massive wheels any that evaded its powerful canon and relentless Gatling guns. After just a few minutes, the entire wave of insectoids was obliterated and the Mako pulled behind the barricades. That was when _he_ got out.

Commander Shepard, the hero of the Skylian Blitz, the first Human Spectre, and the toughest N7 Marine ever to graduate the program, strode toward her, flanked by a Navy Sentinel in Onyx armor and a big Turian. The trio looked like heroes from a vid, here to save the day, and the ordinance these three were packing made her think that they were just that. With Commander Shepard here, they just might survive this. Marie had never met him, but every marine knew the face of the hero of the Skillian Blitz.

"Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy." He introduced himself, his voice a low baritone with a hard edge.

Marie thought it fit him well. Standing face to face with him, she could not help but notice that he was taller than she expected. At about 1.8 meters in height, Marie was taller than most men, but Shepard had a full decimeter on her.

"First Lieutenant Durand, sir. Third brigade, fourteenth infantry regiment. And I am damn glad to see you." She gave him the grim sit-rep, trying hard to remain calm and collected after the ordeal she and her troops had been through. Shepard explained to her that the creatures were Rachni. Those things were supposed to have been extinct, but here they were, tearing her unit apart. Until now.

Commander Shepard wasted no time in hooking their big gun to the Mako's generators, and just in time, as another wave of those things was nearly upon them. Shepard and his fire team did not, however, man the barricades. Shepard left the safety of the barricades, and walked right up to one of the Rachni, shooting it with the most powerful shotgun Marie had ever seen, killing it instantly. Then he and his fire team went out into the field, taking out Rachni as soon as they came out of the ground, the artillery canon catching any that the three of them missed. Watching the commander in action, it was clear that he was not only everything the vids made him out to be, but he was more. At one point, he even took one of the Rachni out in hand to hand combat. Nobody she had ever seen had been that tough, and she had seen a lot!

Soon, the fight was over. It was almost anticlimactic; Shepard made quick work of a foe that her entire unit struggled with for days. When he took off his helmet, and she looked into his eyes, she knew she was smitten. Deep set blue eyes that seemed to look into her very soul greeted her. Shepard possessed a rugged handsomeness, befitting the Alliance's finest marine. Seeing him in action, it was clear that his reputation was well deserved.

Marie thanked him profusely before he went after the Rachni's hive, stopping back a few hours later to tell her that he had taken out the entire nest. She gave him the coordinates of other listening posts in the area, in hopes that he could save them if they were experiencing the same thing. Shepard thanked her and was off to deal with the problem, and that was the last she saw of him, at least in person.

About two weeks later, Shepard sent her a communique to let her know that the other listening posts had been overrun and that she and her unit was all that was left. He also told her that the Rachni infestation was due to their escape from a Cerberus ship, trying to transport them to a lab that he intended to check out. Marie wrote him back thanking him once again, and though she was not sure that sharing how she was doing personally was appropriate, she could not help herself, sharing a small bit about her shore leave after being extracted from Nepmos.

 _Commander Shepard,_

 _I cannot express my gratitude for your rescue enough. I can't even call it an assist; you saved our asses flat out, and I for one am eternally grateful. They sent the sixth brigade in to relieve us, taking our wounded to be treated. I was lucky. I came through without any serious injuries, so I was given two weeks of shore leave and a commendation for bravery. I was so terrified, I hardly feel like I deserved that!_

 _I actually got back to Earth; it still amazes me that we can jump halfway across the galaxy through the relay system in a matter of days. I got home and visited my family, and I got to tell them that I met the first Human Spectre! My little brother and sister were so jealous! I wish I had gotten an autograph or a photo, but c'est la vie._

 _I spent most of my shore leave trying to unwind and de-stress after Nepmos. I had nightmares about those things the first few nights after you left, but that's gone away. I did some shopping, got together with one of my high school friends, and watched vids, eating junk food for an entire day. I felt like such a kid._

 _I'm on Altahe now, the third brigade reassembled and repopulated, mainly with soldiers fresh out of basic. They would have put us back on Nepmos, but I think they want to send in a science team to make sure that the Rachni are truly gone._

 _You know, I used to really hate being out here, but I got to meet you, so it was all worth it._

 _Thanks again, Commander,_

 _Marie_

To her surprise, he wrote her back. Shepard's response was also surprisingly personal, not only asking her more about herself, but also sharing things about his own life. She was surprised to learn that he had grown up on the streets of Washington DC, running with a gang until he enlisted. While he did not share the nature of the mission, or where it had taken place, he expressed deep sadness about the loss of one of his crew. He never mentioned a name, but he let slip that it was a woman, prompting Marie to wonder if there had been anything between Shepard and this fallen, but unnamed Alliance marine. He wrote about the day to day life aboard the Normandy, and some of the challenges of working with a multi-species crew.

Nothing in his communication was inappropriate, nor did it reveal any classified information, but he was friendly to her, and his writing style was quite polished. She was impressed at his vocabulary and grammar; Marie had long been called a grammar Nazi, so Shepard's excellent prose really impressed her. So in spite of her better judgment, she wrote him back again.

This time, she had spent only a paragraph updating him on the status of her unit and where she had been assigned; they had stuck her and her unit on another backwater world out in in the Verge, dealing with pirates and slavers. After that, she waxed personal, sharing with him her boot-camp experiences, family life, and even some stories about high school.

One story related to her difficulties as a tall, athletic girl in getting dates. It was not overly long; simply that she had a crush on a boy on the football team, who after seeming to show interest, suddenly was dating a cheerleader, telling Marie that he had no interest in an Amazon who was taller than he was. She then wrote that she was glad that Shepard was tall, adding a ;) at the end of the sentence.

Marie considered deleting the paragraph, or at least the emoticon at the end. She wondered if perhaps he might find it unprofessional or flirty, but something inside told her to leave it in. Never having had a pen-pal, this was very new to her. Most of her unit consisted of almost stereotypical men of few words. All of her chatty cohorts had been killed by the Rachni, so it was nice to actually have a friend to share things with.

They exchanged e-mail communication back and forth for a few weeks, their messages getting more and more friendly, and Marie peppering her messages with emoticons; smiley faces and winkys. In one of his last messages, Shepard told her that he had sent her something. She asked how he knew where to send it, and he reminded her that she had told him. Then he added that being a Spectre, he could find out pretty much anything he needed to. Marie wondered what it was, anticipating its arrival literally with bated breath. It was rare for people to receive physical communication, though a few people did receive care packages and the like from family.

Each day that went by and she received nothing, her heart sank, even though she knew that as a Spectre, he was probably in the field and that it might take longer than normal for her to receive it. After days of receiving nothing, however, the wait was finally over. A package arrived for her, and she immediately ran back to her bunk to open it. Marie heard some catcalls from her squad-mates, who had started teasing her about her infatuation with the war hero. The package was a box, but inside the wrapping was also an envelope. She opened it up and found something that she had never received in her life; a handwritten letter.

It seemed that the rumors were true; Commander Shepard actually _was_ chasing a rogue Spectre, and he had been forced to commandeer the SSV Normandy and take her to Ilos, deep in the Terminus systems. There, he would face Saren Arterius, a Spectre whose deeds were legendary, but who had gone rogue. Now working for machine lords Shepard referred to as "The Reapers," Saren was allied with the Geth and most certainly had laid a trap for them on Ilos. He told her that this may be the last communication she would receive from him, and that he really appreciated her corresponding with him. He thanked her for her friendship, and said that in talking with her, even in an electronic format, he felt like they had known each other for years, like they had a real connection.

Marie held the letter close to her heart. It was not sappy in the least, but reading between the lines, she was _sure_ that he had feelings for her. Marie definitely had feelings for him, so she hoped that she was not merely projecting. She finally opened the package and inside was a book. It was an old, hardbound paper book, the collected writings of Marcus Aurelius, a philosopher emperor of Rome. She remembered telling him about how she had loved philosophy class in college, and that she really liked the Stoics. She held the book to her heart, just as she had the letter. It was the most thoughtful gift she could ever remember receiving, one she would treasure. The tall lieutenant lay down on her bunk, her feet practically at the edge, and began reading, while also saying a silent prayer for the well-being of her philosopher commander.

Marie was amazed at the news reports. Commander Shepard had led the Alliance in a fight against an actual Reaper! The commander had saved the Citadel from the Sovereign and the Geth, and from their ally, Saren Arterius, whom Shepard had defeated in combat. Humanity now had a seat on the Council, thanks to the efforts of Commander Shepard. Apparently, it had been his decision to open the relays and commit the Alliance Navy to saving the Destiny Ascension, and by extension, the Council itself. Now, Captain Anderson of the Alliance Navy was the new Councilor, mainly due to Shepard's recommendation. Humanity had defeated a foe greater than any that it had ever faced, and Shepard had led them to victory.

Now she was desperate to see him. There was going to be a parade held for him in Washington DC, but Lieutenant Durand was stuck out on the frontier. However, she did have some shore leave coming. Nothing was going on, and they were overstaffed. Not to mention that other soldiers had gotten leave for family events, though those were usually more pressing than simply wanting to see your crush in a parade. Marie could not imagine asking for leave for such a thing, but it was the only way to even get a glimpse of him. She had not heard from Shepard since the Battle of the Citadel, so she hoped that he was not somehow upset with her. More than likely, he had been bogged down by the typical Alliance red tape after such a mission.

It was rare for the tall lieutenant to get this worked up over a man, as she had resigned herself to being unlucky in love long ago. Marie was always too blunt, too tough, too strong, or too tall. Or she was not graceful enough, feminine enough, not pretty enough, or not simply not good enough in social settings. This was the closest thing to a meaningful relationship she had ever had, and she felt like she just had to see him. _Time to see Captain Reyes_ , Marie thought, swallowing her pride.

"You want to what?"

"I'm sorry, sir," she replied. The captain did not look amused. "It's not what you think … well … it probably is what you think, but dammit, sir, every one of the survivors from Nepmos got some time off, every one of them! Except me. I've been running nonstop, and I have not put in a leave request since being assigned to the regiment. Please sir, it would mean a lot."

"You have not had any leave, and you're right; you should have after that disaster on Nepmos. Not to mention that an admiral's cousin under your acting command credited you with keeping them alive until Shepard arrived and saved all your asses. But I can't just grant you leave."

Her heart sank. This was her one and only opportunity to actually see the Commander again, and it had just been taken away from her. "Yes, sir," she replied, saluting him.

"Oh, I haven't dismissed you yet, Lieutenant," the captain said. She raised an eyebrow, hoping he was not going to ride her about her obvious crush on the Commander. It was embarrassing; she was known as a tough as nails soldier, and word that she was in love had already spread through the unit, causing more than a little bit of ribbing from her fellow soldiers. She hoped that the captain was not about to jump on the bandwagon.

"Sir?"

"Lieutenant, take a seat," he said more seriously. She did so, then he chuckled and said, "You'll need to be sitting down for this one. Admiral Elba, the man whose cousin you saved, spoke directly with Commander Shepard after the Battle of the Citadel. Apparently, he wanted to find out want manner of soldier you were before recommending you to ICT. Commander Shepard has personally vouched for you. You'll be heading to Earth in forty eight hours. Shuttle lands in Washington DC, where you'll have one night of shore leave before catching a plane to Rio. You might even catch that parade."

Her jaw dropped. She had scraped for every promotion she had received, starting out as an enlisted woman. She had never been to officers' school or anything like that; she was just a kid who grew up poor and enlisted to make a better life for herself, and maybe earn some money to continue her education after her tour was up. She ended up sending earnings home to help out her family, so instead of continuing college, she wound up making a career in the military. However, the fact that she was a college graduate coupled with her stand out performances on a number of missions had gotten her noticed, and she eventually had made lieutenant. Marie's father had served in the Alliance, and had made staff sergeant during his four year tour. He was very proud of her.

But her lack of being an academy graduate had held her back once she broke into the officers ranks. She seriously expected to retire a first lieutenant, only making captain upon retirement. Now, at nearly thirty years of age, ICT was being handed to her. She wondered what Shepard had said to Admiral Elba. They had only met once; their 'relationship' was entirely through e-mail correspondence, and in spite of her own feelings, their communication had not waxed romantic. Only the one hand written letter and the gift of a book stood out as highly unusual. She wondered if the decision had been all but made prior to Elba speaking to the Commander, or if it was the first Human Spectre's clout that had pushed it through. But what did it matter? She was going to Earth!

Commander Shepard hated parades. Thankfully, the weather was nice, and it was good to back on Earth. Colonization had eased Earth's crowding and drain on her resources, so the cities were actually getting nicer. Shepard himself had grown up in the slums of this very city, running with the Tenth Street Reds. Oh, how times had changed. One of his old gang acquaintances, Finch had caught up with him on the Citadel, and it was soon apparent that he no longer had anything in common with the old gang. It was weird, but as Shepard waved to the people of his home city, he felt like a complete stranger.

"Come on Commander, lighten up!" Kaiden elbowed him, sensing the Commander's disconnectedness with the event.

"Don't push it, Alenko," he growled. "I'm waving and smiling. And while I'm doing this … fanfare, less than two weeks after the Battle of the Citadel, the Alliance and Council are already trying to find new ways to deny the Reaper threat. I thought Anderson would really push it, but he's got no backing, and the other three councilors are firmly in denial. Those things will be here, Kaiden. They'll be here, and they'll reduce this place to ashes."

"Try not to think about it," replied Kaiden. "No matter how much it pisses you off, you can't change it."

"Just watch me," he countered. "I'll find a way."

"Even if it kills you?" Kaiden looked at him seriously, concern evident in his face.

"I'll come back," Shepard growled. "No way I'm letting the Reapers have the last word. No way in …" his voice trailed off as he caught a glimpse of what he thought was a familiar face. "… hell?" He turned, making eye contact with her.

Whoever she was, she looked familiar, and she was desperately trying to keep up with the Normandy-shaped float. She wore a Marine Corps BDU with a gray camo pattern, and was waving her hat to get his attention. And she was tall! At a full head taller than most women, and a good six inches taller than most men, he could easily see her face over those around her. He could now hear her calling out to him.

"Commander!"

Or at least he thought he could hear her; the noise from the crowd made it difficult to pick out a single voice, though he could see her mouth moving. She looked almost desperate. But who was she?

"You know her?" Kaiden was now looking at her too.

"I … I don't know," Shepard replied, waving to her, and trying to smile directly at her. "She looks familiar. Her eyes, her face, but I can't place her." The poor girl soon was lost in the crowd. Her face wore a look of deep frustration as he lost sight of her.

"Too bad you don't know her name," commented Kaiden. "An actual date would do you a lot of good. Don't know why you never took up Doctor T'Soni."

"Not my type," replied Shepard. "Besides, I thought you had eyes for her, so I was staying away."

"You mean you …" Kaiden's eyes widened as the lieuntenant realized that he had missed his opportunity with the bookish, but lovely young Asari. "Oh my. I really blew it with that one."

"She's still on the Citadel, you know," Shepard consoled. "We'll be heading back there in a few days, where she'll be rejoining the Normandy, along with Garrus. Too bad Wrex is heading back to Tuchanka; we could really use him."

"I thought all we were doing was mopping up Geth," Kaiden said, some suspicion in his voice.

"Officially," said Shepard. "But as Joker once said, only an idiot believes the official story." Shepard continued waving, but activated his omni-tool and began surreptitiously checking his messages.

"What? Shepard, what?" Kaiden tried to get Shepard to be more specific, but Shepard just winked and kept waving.

This was truly the first time he had been able to check his messages, though technically, he was not supposed to be doing that during the parade. One of the PR people reached in to try to turn off his omni-tool, but Shepard grabbed his wrist much faster than the man could react.

"Spectre business," Shepard growled. "And if you try that again, I'm going to toss you over Joker's head, out in front of this float and wave to you after we run you over got it?"

The man nodded rapidly, pulling against him. Shepard pulled forward just a touch, causing the man to pull harder. That's when Shepard let go. The man almost fell off of the float. He would have had Kaiden not caught him with a little biotic slight of hand. Kaiden scolded him, but Shepard barely heard him; he had seven messages from the past three weeks from Marie.

"You know Kaiden, you're absolutely right."

"That you could have killed that man?" Kaiden asked a bit indignantly.

"Not that; he did that all on his own anyway," countered Shepard. "About the date, I mean." He sent a quick response to one of the messages, then turned off the omni-tool. He stood, feeling renewed, and began waving enthusiastically. Kaiden had no clue, but that was fine with Shepard. Kaiden being clueless was a fairly common occurrence.

 _He saw me!_ But then he was gone, just like that. Marie had been sending him messages for the past three weeks, but had not heard back. She hoped that Shepard would make the connection, though he looked as though he were trying to figure out who she was. _How humiliating_ , she thought. _There I was, waving, hat off, and …_ Then she remembered that he had only seen her once, and she was in armor and wearing her helmet. Marie then realized that she had never sent him a photo. Now she was just kicking herself for being stupid. Heading to the nearest café, she went inside and ordered a latte, and sat at a table by the window. Her ears slowly recovered from the boisterous scene outside.

While the café was comparatively quiet; who wanted to be inside when Shepard was out there? That was when she noticed that she had an incoming message. Marie fumbled with her data pad, dropping it on the floor, she was so nervous. Picking it up, she was elated to see that the message was actually from him. Then she panicked; was this just a good bye message after a long period of silence? Putting her nerves aside, she opened the message and read it. To her surprise and delight, it was not only _not_ 'good bye,' but it held the promise of an actual date! Shepard's note was short, but it explained his lack of communication.

 _Dear Marie,_

 _Sorry I haven't written back; I've been completely sidetracked by bureaucratic red tape. I can't tell you how frustrating it is; there are no words in the English language strong enough to fully express the depth to which the bureaucrats and politicians have sunk. There's so much to do, but here I am, stuck in a parade._

 _I hate parades, but I saw you in the crowd, so I'm glad I agreed to do this one! Sorry to write such a short letter; I'm in the parade right now, I'm jammed up with ceremonial nonsense. As of eight tonight, I am done with it, come hell or high water. Meet me at Nedlingers Bar & Grille. Sending you the nav point. Gotta go; more waving and smiling to do. _

_Hope to see you soon!_

 _J.S._

Marie could hardly believe her luck. Shepard actually _had_ recognized her. Either that, or he made the connection later. But either way, he had asked her out! She hoped that it really was a date, and not just friends getting together. _Oh God_ , she thought, _what if he's gay?_ It would not diminish her respect for him, or her desire to be his friend; same sex relationships were very common now, but boy would it be a disappointment for her tonight. Marie wanted to send him a flirty message, but she was terrible at flirting. She was a soldier, not a barfly. She went with the direct response.

"So it's a date? (I hope so!)"

Marie crossed her fingers and sent the message, then turned to the vid screen the café had on. All of the employees were watching the vid of the parade, as they could not leave. As the camera panned in for a close up on Shepard, he suddenly looked down at his left arm and activated his omni tool. _Oh my God! He's reading my message on live television!_ He took a moment and did something with his omni-tool, and then turned it off. Turning to Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko, he said something, and then Alenko held up his hand for a high five. Shepard gave him five at the same moment her data pad chimed. She looked down and read Shepard's response.

 _Definitely. I was hoping we were on the same page_.

Marie could not help herself. She jumped up and shouted, "YES!"

Everyone turned and looked at her, seemingly annoyed.

She just shrugged. "He asked me out! He finally asked me out!" They all turned and went back to watching the vids. She sat down, smiling with satisfaction. _It's alright; none of them need to know_ , she thought as she finished her coffee and pondered what to wear.

Nedlinger's Bar & Grille was busy, but Commander Shepard could get a seat anywhere. He had put his foot down by six, insisting that his workday was over. Commander Shepard had saved the galaxy, and the brass would just have to be happy with that. Alliance PR tried tacking on three extra events to the end of the day, but Shepard pointedly reminded the PR rep that getting run over by a float could still be arranged.

Kaiden had been flabbergasted. The young lieutenant could never have even dreamed of speaking to a so-called superior officer or an Alliance rep the way that Shepard had spoken to several captains, admirals, and various reps. But then, Kaiden was not the hero of the Blitz, the first Human Spectre, or the commander who led the team that saved the galaxy, and Kaiden did not have a secret date with a beautiful marine lined up either.

He still could not believe that Kaiden had missed out on talking to Liara, and quietly hoped that the two would hit it off so that Kaiden could take his attention off of Shepard. Kaiden was a bit too by-the-book for Shepard's liking, and while they had gotten to be good friends during the mission to stop Saren, Shepard really did not know him all that well. Not well enough to share details of his own love life. As Shepard looked over the menu, he heard a woman's voice from up front.

"No, I'm meeting someone," she said. Somehow, Shepard knew it was Marie. He looked out at the front, and sure enough, there was Lieutenant Marie Durand.

"Party name?" he heard the host ask.

Marie leaned down and whispered something to the host.

"Ah!" the host said, "Right this way, ma'am."

Marie had changed out of the BDU she wore earlier, and into denim pants and a black leather jacket. The jacket was open, revealing a close fitting red shirt with a low neckline. Marie had her black hair up in a bun, a popular style with female soldiers, though Shepard gathered that if she let her hair down, it would be quite long. Her complexion was darker than Shepard's, and her face hinted at some Latino ancestry. Marie was a full head taller than the host, and nearly as tall as Shepard himself if his memory served. She was what Shepard considered to be a "real woman," and beautiful in his eyes.

The commander stood as they approached, and then thanked the host for his discretion; Shepard wanted a nice evening with Marie, not to be mobbed by fans and reporters.

"John?" She said his first name as though she were unsure. Not of his first name; everyone knew that, though few people actually used it. She was unsure of whether or not to use it or to just call him Shepard like everyone else.

"Marie," he replied. "It feels like … well, forever."

She hugged him tightly in response. "You have no idea!"

"I know," he agreed, holding the chair out for her and sliding it in as she sat. "Last time I actually saw you was on Nepmos, fighting the Rachni. Even then, I never saw more than your face."

"How did you recognize me in that crowd?" Marie looked surprised that he was able to.

"Your height was part of it," he said. "But your eyes were what I remembered. Your eyes, and right before I lost sight of you, you looked … desperate, like when I first saw you on Nepmos. I'll never forget that expression."

"Glad my height finally worked to my benefit," she laughed. "Most men are put off by it."

"Their loss; I like tall women."

His statement made her smile and blush.

"But in this case," he continued, "it was the only reason I was able to see you in that crowd long enough to connect your eyes to the girl I met on Nepmos."

"So," she queried, placing her elbows on the table, placing her chin in her palms, looking into his eyes, "It was my eyes that ensnared you?"

"Your eyes and face. You have prominent cheekbones and strong jaw. Your expression was one of resolute determination, but it was your eyes that really stood out. They looked haunted, desperate, not like the determined expression you wore. It reminded me of how I must have looked during the Blitz. Staying strong for my men, but knowing that I probably wasn't going to make it. Me, and a handful of N7 marines against roughly ten thousand Batarians. I had my men get people to safety while I tried to hold the opening in the colony defenses. I _knew_ I was dead; it's a miracle that I'm not. Your eyes looked the way I felt. Never thought I'd meet anyone who'd been there like I was."

Marie nodded. Shepard could see in her eyes that she knew exactly what he meant; this woman had watched her commanding officers, and then her men die, one by one, or maybe several at a time. By the time he, Kaiden, and Garrus arrived, Marie and a handful of marines were all that remained. They were on the verge of being wiped out when Shepard arrived. It was pure happenstance that he had been in the area to hear the distress call. To think that Lieutenant Durand would have been dead if he had literally been a second later made him thankful beyond measure.

"But it was your letters that really got me," he added, reaching across and taking her hand. "When we first started writing, it was just nice to talk to you. But the longer we corresponded, the more of a connection I felt with you. You said a few things that kind of tipped your hand a little, and I almost wrote you a sappy romantic letter right before Ilos."

"Why didn't you?" She squeezed his hand, gazing into his eyes, leaning closer to him.

"Because I wanted to tell you in person." He leaned in and kissed her. Marie's eyes closed and she kissed him very passionately. Finally, they sat back, and she fanned herself with her menu.

"Oh yeah," she purred. "I've been dreaming of this moment since Nepmos!"

"Hope you're not disappointed."

She shook her head. "Oh, not at all. That was great. Can't wait for more."

"Let's have dinner first. Then we'll see what kind of send-off I can give you before you head down to Rio for ICT."

"About that," Marie asked. "How did you get involved with that?"

"Admiral Elba came to me and said you were under consideration. I told him that I'd seen you in action and that you really impressed me. I told him how you had taken command of your unit and held out until we arrived. He agreed that you were ICT material, but with your CO dead, he wanted to talk to a superior officer who had worked with you."

"You didn't tell him about us …"

"No. Until tonight, we were just writing anyway, and our correspondence was well within the bounds of protocol."

"Not like this, huh?" Marie leaned forward and kissed him again.

"Not at all like this," he agreed. "This is much better."

"So what now, commander? I'm off to ICT and you're out fighting Geth. How do we … I don't know, make this work?"

"Well, Marie, you can start by just calling me John," Shepard said with a laugh. "Then we eat dinner and bug out. I'd like to have as much time with you as possible before I'm called back to parades and official functions."

"As much time as possible?" Marie leaned in and smiled. "How about all night?"

"I like the sound of that, Marie." Shepard kissed her.

The two of them finally ordered their food, and spent the next few minutes making eyes at each other until their drinks came. Marie ordered a fruity drink with an umbrella, but Shepard went for straight Peruvian whiskey, something Kaiden had turned him onto during their hunt for Saren. Their steaks came shortly afterward.

"I haven't eaten this well in years!" Marie loved the military, but military life on the frontier and gourmet cooking were mutually exclusive.

"Tell me about it," Shepard laughed. "I don't think I ate anything that didn't come from a ship's galley until after the Blitz, but then it was right back to whatever the mess sergeant was serving. Until I became a Spectre."

"They feed you well?"

"No, but some of my missions placed me in situations that involved fine dining. But none of them involved a beautiful lady."

Marie blushed, but then remembered the death of Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, something that was not made public until after the defeat of Saren.

"I'm sorry to bring this up, but … were you and Ashley close?"

"We were friends," Shepard said, somewhat wistfully. "She was a good addition to the Normandy crew, and she like talking theology, something rare these days. But we never developed any feelings."

"I'm sorry for your loss, John. Sorry if asking was out of line …"

"Nah. You know how it is, Marie; people around us, often good people, die in the line of duty. Talking about them honors them, makes us remember them. We've both lost a lot of people, but tonight isn't about loss. We've found each other. In this crazy, insane galaxy, somehow, we found each other."

"And I'm glad you found me when you did," Marie said. "I would have been dead about a second later if you hadn't."

"To the girl who takes on Rachni!" Shepard raised his glass.

"And to the commander who saved her," Marie said, joining him in a toast.

The couple was soon done with dinner, sharing a dessert of apple pie with ice cream, but not lingering overlong. Shepard took the check, and the couple beat a hasty retreat, haling a cab as soon as they got outside. As he helped Marie into the cab, he heard a voice say, "Commander Shepard?" He quickly climbed in and closed the door.

"So, your place or mine?" the lieutenant asked.

"I've got the presidential penthouse suite," Shepard declared.

"Your place, then. Definitely your place," Marie said, laughing as she snuggled close to Shepard, enjoying the ride in the cab.

Marie stayed with the commander through the night, the couple putting aside the concerns of the Alliance, the Council, and the galaxy. They savored physical love, the first time in a long time for both of them, and awoke in each other's arms. For the first time in a long time also, they did not wake up before 0800. To Marie's surprise, the sweet aroma of coffee filled the air. Not the rotgut stuff she was used to either, but something that smelled absolutely heavenly.

"Did you make coffee and come back to bed?" Marie moaned the question, still groggy from sleep.

"On a timer," he boasted. "I have my own coffee and coffee maker; hotel stuff is worse than what we had back in basic."

"Back in basic?" Marie propped her head up on her hand looking down at John Shepard, who still had an arm around her. "You mean yours got better?"

"I serve in the fleet, Marie. Coffee is a vital part of ship operations."

"Lucky bastard," she laughed.

"Yeah, well as the Normandy's XO and now skipper, I've had personal input into the coffee selection. Let me tell you; Anderson likes _good_ coffee. Best posting I ever had."

"So, it's breakfast time?" Marie was awake, but not ready to leave the bed just yet.

"It could be," Shepard said. "Unless you have something else in mind."

"Oh, I definitely do," Marie cooed.

Shepard and Marie remained close after that night, writing, video conferencing, and talking on the phone. ICT was every bit as grueling as Marie had heard, so she was thankful for the encouragement John regularly sent her. Days and weeks went by, and then months. Marie found herself advancing to N2. The initial level was the hardest training she had ever endured, and she knew it would only get more challenging. But Marie knew she could do it. After Nepmos, she felt she could do anything. On the nights when she thought she might be in over her head, Shepard's encouragement kept her going.

When Marie graduated to N3, she could not wait to tell her love, yes, she had decided that it was truly love, about her accomplishment. To her surprise and disappointment, he did not log on for their scheduled video chat. She assumed that it was due to his mission, so she decided to write him anyway.

Days went by, and she wrote him each day, sharing her feelings and telling him how her training was going. Still, she heard nothing back from him. After two weeks, she was feeling a bit worried that she may have offended him. Marie went over everything she had said and everything she had written, but could not see how anything could have caused a rift between them. Even in his last communication, John was excited about their impending video chat, a chat that never took place.

Sergeant Ortiz came into the barracks one morning and pulled Marie aside. He had that look on his face that she associated with bad news about friends or family. She immediately thought of her parents and grandparents.

"Captain Reyes is here to see you," Sergeant Ortiz told her as they walked.

"It's not my parents …"

"No, no deaths in the family," Ortiz confirmed.

Marie was relieved, but wondered what was going on. Ortiz led her to a debriefing room, where Captain Reyes awaited.

"The captain will tell you everything, Marie," said the sergeant. He and Marie saluted Reyes, and Ortiz left after the captain returned the salute.

"Marie, have a seat."

She sat down, worried now more than ever. Reyes looked as though he was about to tell her that someone shot her dog. "Yes, sir," she said as she took a seat.

"Marie, I … I know you and Shepard were lovers," he began.

She began to protest, but he waved her off.

"This isn't a reprimand, Marie. This is … unbelievable. It's monstrous. It'll be all over the news in about an hour, and I raced here to make sure that you knew before it hit. I would have called you if I couldn't get here in time, but I really wanted to tell you this in person. Commander Shepard … he … Oh, God, Marie, there's no way to sugarcoat this. The Normandy encountered an unknown enemy while dealing with Geth holdouts and was completely obliterated. A lot of the crew made it to the escape pods, but Shepard saved his helmsman, getting him to a pod, and was blown out into space before he could get in himself. He's listed as MIA because they don't have a body, but he's presumed dead. I'm sorry Marie."

She sat silently, trying to process the news. Marie had spent the past few months thinking about getting more serious with John after ICT, and even found herself thinking about weddings, and suddenly, John Shepard was MIA, presumed dead. Marie felt the tears coming to her eyes. She tried to speak, but only sobs came out. Frustrated, she shrieked.

"No! No, no, no, no!"

Captain Reyes came around and hugged her. She was grateful for the care he took in telling her in person and keeping her from having to find out when it aired on the vids, but all she could feel was a heavy pit in her stomach. She felt as though her whole life had just been stripped away from her. _How can this happen? We did everything right!_ No answers came to her; only tears and sobs.

Marie graduated ICT with N7 honors. She had to see it through for John, and today was for him. She received a new suit of onyx armor with the distinctive N7 badge affixed to the right chest plate. It was the proudest moment of her life, but made bittersweet by Shepard's absence. _It doesn't matter_ , she thought. _I'll carry him in my heart until the day I die_.

 **Two years later …**

Lieutenant Commander Marie Durand now served with the fleet. Gone were the days of listening posts on remote frontier worlds. As an N7 marine with a sterling service record, Marie was welcomed aboard the SSV Perugia, one of the ships that had flown against Sovereign during the battle of the Citadel.

Marie never did learn what truly happened; Shepard had wanted to tell her, but never had the chance. She only knew that he felt that the Reaper threat was very, very real. Less than a month after his passing, the Alliance brass had declared Shepard's warnings of greater danger to be mistaken or delusional, and the Citadel Council discounted the Reaper threat out of hand. The past two years had been peaceful, but Marie felt like time was running out. Shepard had truly believed that the Reaper invasion was imminent, and while others dismissed it, Marie believed him.

Now, human colonies were disappearing completely, and the Alliance seemed powerless. They were still sending soldiers like her out to root out Geth holdouts and to deal with pirates, but there was no way that those were the cause of the kind of disappearances she was hearing about.

Marie put it from her mind as she took her turn at the terminal. Surprisingly, she had a personal message from an untraceable source. She opened it, half expecting spam. What she saw made her heart swell with joy.

 _My dearest Marie,_

 _I pray that I have not put you through too much heartache. It's a long story, but as you probably know, I was spaced during the destruction of the Normandy. We were hit by the Collectors. The Alliance will certainly deny this threat, but believe me it's real. Cerberus recovered my body and resuscitated me so that I could fight the Collectors, and ultimately the Reapers._

 _Believe me, Cerberus is not to be trusted, but regardless of my feeling about them, they brought me back. I know it's been two years, and if you've moved on, then I wish you all the happiness in the galaxy. But if you're still willing, I still love you. I don't have a lot of time; I'm at a public terminal on Omega. Cerberus most certainly has my communications from the ship bugged._

 _I'm still putting pieces together, and I'll keep you in the loop as best as I can. Marie, I hope I can see you again. You're all I've thought about since waking up. Sounds crazy, I know; fate of the galaxy and I'm here worrying about a girl. But you're not just some girl; you're the woman I love. The void could not hold me, and I am back. I hear your N7, by the way. Congratulations! I knew you were more than capable. Gotta go._

 _Love,_

 _John_

Marie could hardly believe it; Shepard was back! She could not help herself; she jumped up and shouted, "YES!" Everyone turned and looked at her, seemingly annoyed. She just shrugged. "He's back! Shepard's back!"

"Shepard died," one of them protested.

"Trust me, he's back!"

Marie left the crew quarters and went to the forward observation deck. She had to be alone right now, and was glad that the room was unoccupied. She took a seat, buried her head in her hands and wept. She could no longer hold it in; the daily ache and depression she had gone through for over two years was at an end. She could finally let it out, no longer having to be strong. A thousand questions went through her mind; everything from how Cerberus got his body to what he was going to have to face on the mission he was undertaking. Did he look the same?

Was it the _real_ John Shepard? Their relationship had never progressed beyond e-mails, phone calls, video chats, and one single date, so someone trying to fake it to her did not make much sense, but the question came to her regardless. Marie did not care if the accident had left him scarred, or even crippled. She only wanted him to be him. She wanted to ask him so many things, but with his message coming from a public terminal on Omega, she could not even respond. Marie spent the last ten minutes of her self-imposed break praying for the commander's success and eventual return to her. Nobody else had to believe her; if it was real, that was all that mattered.

 **Six months later …**

Shepard had just destroyed the Collector Base and told the Illusive man to go to Hell. Now, it was time to return to Alliance space with the prize of the Normandy SR-2. Many of his crewmembers left, due to being wanted by the Alliance. Miranda and Jacob both bid him farewell. But it was not his departing crew that was most on his mind, but Lieutenant Commander Marie Durand. In spite of a mountain of issues he knew he would face upon his return, not the least of which was possible charges in connection with working with Cerberus, and answering for the destruction of the Aratoht relay.

As Shepard readied the Normandy to go through the regular Omega relay and return to Arcturus, Shepard astride the galaxy map platform, Joker's voice sounded over the intercom.

"Commander, incoming message from Admiral Hackett. Seems you're popular with the Alliance brass again. Patching it through now."

"Commander Shepard," came Admiral Hackett's gruff voice. "I'm glad you were in the area. The SSV Perugia was tracking a slaver ship; the Batarians had just made major grab at one of our less protected colonies, and Captain Martins was ordered to pursue. They gave chase to the Omega Nebula, and followed the slavers to the Fathar system; straight to Lorek. You were there a few months back, sending us valuable intel that they had on Ceberus. We need you to go back again."

"Does the Perugia need assistance?" Shepard was still unclear on what Hackett was asking.

"It seems that the Batarians laid a trap for the Perugia. She was forced to land on the planet. Commander, you and I both know that a cruiser is not rated for suborbital operation, so you can imagine the result. The ship went down, but there were survivors. The Batarians have them. You won't need to look very hard; there in the same base you cleaned out six months ago. I don't need to tell you what will happen to those men and women if they're not rescued soon."

"I'll get them back, sir," Shepard replied.

"Good hunting Shepard. Hackett out."

Marie was in and out of consciousness, having been tortured for over three hours straight. She had no information that the Batarians could use, but they tortured her for the sheer enjoyment. Mercifully, she passed out, awakening later in a cell. Only a few of the Perugia crew had made it; five in all, and that included Marie. The tall lieutenant had fought hard against capture, but she had suffered an ankle injury. She did not know if it had been a break or a sprain, but after her torturers were through, both of her ankles were broken. She had been subjected to electric shock, and water boarding. Finally, they strung her up by her wrists and used her as a punching bag.

She lay in pain for hours after waking up until her captors came for her again. This time, they began patching her up and setting her broken bones. Marie was more concerned by this than by the actual torture she had already received; the only reason for them to heal her at all was to either torture her some more, or to prepare for sale. They roughly picked her up and flipped her over, dropping her hard on the table. Then one of them grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled it sharply upward, as another began cutting it at the base of her skull. Two more restrained her hands and feet. She realized that they were going to implant her with a control chip, likely with no anesthetic. She prayed that she might die in the process if she could not escape.

Still injured and days without food; only water, Marie had no strength to resist the six Batarians, but she would try. She tried to roll back over, but the one holding her hair slammed her face into the table as hard as he could. She felt her nose break. Then they strapped her waist, hands and feet to the table, and finally strapped her head in place, two blocks to either side to keep her from turning away when they began implanting the chip. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain at the back of her skull. With no energy to cry out, she simply endured it as they cut into her scalp.

Before the Batarian "doctor" could make much of an incision, the door flew open, three more Batarians rushing inside, closing the door behind them.

"Sir, we've got to escape," one of them gasped.

"What the hell are you talking about?" One of the Batarians that had been holding her in place walked over to the newcomers.

"Commander Shepard, sir … we'll never survive!"

"Shepard … here?" The Batarian overseer became visibly panicked at the mention of Shepard's name.

 _Good_ , she thought. _You'll get your comeuppance_. Just knowing that he was here, however, gave her strength, and with the Batarians distracted, she decided to act. When they restrained her hands, Marie had tensed her muscles. Now, she relaxed them and tightened up her fingers into a narrow group and began pulling against the restraint. As the Batarians deliberated about what to do, she surreptitiously freed one of her hands.

The doctor stood next to her, his hand at his side, still holding the scalpel. She freed her other hand as stealthily as she could. Her head was still trapped, but if she could get her waist free, she might be able to do something. She carefully undid the restraint around her waist as all of her captors walked to the front of the room, arguing in their native tongue.

Marie was amazed at how quickly they had forgotten about her, allowing her to not only undo the strap around her waist, but to then free her head as well. The Batarians talked tough, but as soon as Shepard's name was mentioned, they became terrified, showing their true cowardice. Staying low, she twisted and freed her feet. She knew that walking was probably out of the question; her ankles would require time to heal now that they had been set. But she could still do something.

One of the Batarians had a gun less than a foot from her, and was paying no attention whatsoever to her. Carefully lifting the pistol from its holster, she prayed that he would not notice her. Her prayers were answered; not only did the Batarian _not_ notice her, but he walked away as the gun cleared the holster. It seemed that the group was leaving to deal with the threat of Commander Shepard. Marie would not let them go that easily.

Training the gun on its former owner's head, she fired. Her shot found its mark, his head exploding. They turned to see what had happened, and that's when she shot two more in the head, killing them instantly. When she had been fighting the Rachni, she had gotten very good at headshots. The Rachni still did not go down easily, but Batarians were another story. The remaining two now had their guns drawn, but Marie kept shooting. Hitting them each in the torso, they staggered back, only for her to shoot them both in the head, right between all four of their eyes. With all five of them dead, she could hear Shepard's voice.

"Down here," he said, before emerging from the doorway.

"Shepard," Marie gasped.

"Marie! Quick! We've got to get her to the Normandy! Find the other survivors!"

He barked more orders as he applied medigel to the wound at the back of her head, his instructions indicating that he had a fire team with him.

"This is going to hurt," he said softly, kissing her cheek. She felt hands hold her head in place and then Shepard then set her nose.

She cried out momentarily, but he quickly applied medigel, and the pain subsided.

"Sorry, but if I'd applied medigel before setting it, your nose would have been permanently out of joint." Shepard kissed her forehead and scooped her up off of the table. "Don't worry Marie, we'll get you fixed up."

Marie relaxed, her pain having subsided to a dull ache with Shepard's arrival and efforts to patch her up. Now that Shepard had addressed her injuries, she realized that her stomach hurt from hunger more than her injuries did. But with an extraction team here, she no longer had to stay strong and stay awake. Her body was well past the limits of its endurance, and she was light headed from lack of food. Marie passed from consciousness, resting in the arms of the man she loved.

Marie awoke in a hospital bed. She looked around and realized that it was not a hospital, but a medbay. As she became more alert, she realized that it was a ship's medbay. _I must be aboard Shepard's ship_ , she thought. She moved her feet, and finding that her ankles only had a dull ache, looked at her fingers. The nails had not grown back; it had probably been less than forty eight hours, but the medigel had healed up the wounds nicely. Her ribs were bandaged up, but even those had only a dull ache.

She looked at the other beds, and to her amazement, saw the other survivors from the Perugia, all still resting. A thin, middle aged woman with gray hair sat at a desk filling out some kind of report. Noticing that Marie was awake, the woman looked over.

"Ah, I see your awake, Lieutenant Commander. How are you feeling?" The woman had a hint of an English accent.

"A lot better, thank you," Marie replied.

"I'm Doctor Chakwas, Lieutenant Commander. You, and the remaining Perugia crew, are aboard the Normandy SR-2." Chakwas walked over and began examining Marie. "Everything looks good; your bones are knitting back together nicely, and your cuts and abrasions will probably heal without much scarring. Except for that nasty cut at the back of your head, at least. Thankfully, it appears that the Batarians took no further liberties with you."

"Thankfully no," Marie agreed. "But doctor, you said I'm aboard the Normandy. I thought the Normandy was … destroyed."

"It was," confirmed Chakwas. "I was there, in fact. I was one of those fortunate enough to get to an escape pod. As you no doubt already know, the commander was resuscitated by Cerberus. They also built this new Normandy SR-2."

"Which I used to take down the Collectors, and then promptly stole," announced Shepard as he entered the medbay. "How are you feeling, Marie?"

"Much better now," she said softly.

"That was some impressive shooting back there," he praised. "You took 'em down clean, and in the condition you were in, that was quite a feat!"

"I heard them say that you were there. It gave me strength. I got loose and picked the gun from one of the Batarian's holsters. But they'd worked me over pretty bad before you got there."

"Commander, I'm going to take a coffee break if you don't mind," Doctor Chakwas announced. "I'll leave our patient in your charge; I suspect you both have a lot of catching up to do."

"Thanks, Karin," Shepard replied as Doctor Chakwas exited the medbay.

Once Doctor Chakwas was gone, Shepard sat down next to Marie, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Good to finally see you again, though I do wish the circumstances were more pleasant."

"A parade and Nedlinger's sounds a lot more appealing," Marie said weakly. "But how did you find me?"

"Once we were in the system, I got a call from Admiral Hackett. The Alliance received the captain's last transmission and coordinates, then pieced it together from there. He sent me to assist. I knew you were aboard the Perugia; I prayed that you had survived and that we weren't too late."

"Another minute or two and you would have been. They were … cutting my scalp away so that they could insert a control chip. They'd just begun cutting when you arrived."

Shepard leaned down and softly kissed her lips. "To have lost you now would have been unbearable."

"No arguments there, John, but what _about_ now? You've found me again, but I don't want to lose you again."

"I probably won't be going anywhere for a while, especially after Aratoht."

"What do you mean?" Marie was troubled by this, sitting up.

"Good thing you're sitting down. This is a conversation I've been wanting to have with you for a long time, and I definitely did not want an electronic record of it. This is going to be a lot to take in; it goes all the way back to the Geth attack on Eden Prime, before I was a Spectre."

Marie made herself comfortable as Shepard began from the beginning, telling her the entire story, including all of the undisclosed information, the Council stonewalling, and the Alliance backtracking. He told her of Saren, the Reapers, the Collectors, Harbinger, and Aratoht, and about Cerberus, and Shepard's using them to fight the Collectors, and then cutting them loose and taking the Normandy when it was over.

Marie sat in silence when Shepard had finished. She could hardly take it all in, it was so monstrous. She knew that the Alliance had been denying the Reapers, but after Shepard laid out the entire story, pieces began falling into place. She realized that regardless of the Alliance denial, the Reapers would come. Thankfully, some of the admiralty, Hackett in particular, was not bowing to political pressure, but Shepard would be made to take the heat.

"I'll visit you whenever I can, John. I'll take shore leave and stay on Arcturus as long as I can; with my injuries, I'll be out of action for a while anyway. Hopefully, I won't get shipped out until you're cleared."

"I'd say that could take years," Shepard began, "but I don't think the Reapers will wait that long. Then I'll be back in the fight, come Hell or high water."

"And I'll be right there beside you, John. Till the end!"

"Till the end." Shepard held Marie for a few moments, just enjoying having her in his arms. Then an idea came to him. "You know, this is going to sound totally crazy, but I do have a ship, and no designated time to return to Earth."

"What are you saying, John?"

"What do you say to a quick side trip to … say Illium?"

"And what would we do there?"

"Why, get married, of course."

Marie held him tightly. "You get me to the altar and I'll say yes."

"Deal."

 **The End**


End file.
